John Eales Medal

[RugbyFan]

Just started on Fox Sports 1 now. Who does everyone think will win it? I'd go Lote or maybe Mortlock.

[Burgs]

We should have got organised earlier with the Bookie!
I would lean towards Vickerman from Smith, Mortlock and Tuqiri.
Tai McIsaac for Rookie of the Year.
Greg Holmes for try of the year.
I forget the other categories?.

[travelling_gerry]

oopsss.....sorry.....forgot about it all....

but def Tai for Rookie....and Holmes for try.....and best....hmmm....smokie...Elsom

[RugbyFan]

Holmes got rookie of the year

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Partying in Carnarvon Gerry?

[Burgs]

Holmes got rookie of the year

Did they announce runners up or the like?
Would think it would have been a close one between Holmes, McIsaac and Blake?

[RugbyFan]

Try of the year - Matt Giteau
and no runner ups announced.

[Burgs]

Try of the year - Matt Giteau

a THOUSAND Props hearts just broke

[Burgs]

The suspense is killing me RF

[Jess]

Latham announced as the 2006 John Eales Medalist with a record 345 votes.
sharpie got 171.
Well done Latho! Well deserved!

[Shaun]

I thought he would take it out

[travelling_gerry]

http://www.rugby.com.au/news/chris_l.../section/21893

Chris Latham wins 2006 John Eales Medal
September 12, 2006 - 5:35pm
Story by: ARU
Chris Latham, winner of the 2006 John Eales Medal.
Qantas Wallaby fullback Chris Latham has won the coveted John Eales Medal, polling 344 votes from his Wallaby teammates and ending the Wallaby forwards' stranglehold on Australian Test Rugby's most prestigious award.

Thirty-one-year-old Latham has had a memorable 12 months and polled more than twice the votes of second and third-placed Nathan Sharpe and George Smith.

He was the starting fullback for each of the Wallabies' 13 Test matches and has now accumulated 68 Test caps in a stellar career.

Latham's mobility and exceptional kicking game have helped him score five tries in 13 Tests, including a spectacular try in the record breaking 49-0 win against South Africa at his home ground, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, earlier this year.

The 3-2-1 votes that determine the John Eales Medallist were taken from the 22 players after every Test match of last year's Spring Tour and this year's Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series.

It is the first year since its inception that Rugby's top honour has been won by a back, with Latham now joining forwards Jeremy Paul, David Lyons, Phil Waugh and George Smith as John Eales Medallists.

Qantas Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe was second behind Latham on 171 votes, with inaugural winner George Smith third on 157 votes.

Chris Latham started the polling strongly, picking up an impressive 157 votes during last year's Spring Tour. He continued his rich vein of form by picking up 49 votes in the Cook Cup Test in Melbourne and 53 votes in the first Bledisloe encounter in Christchurch.

Latham's 344 votes is the highest individual total since the inception of the award in 2002. Inaugural medallist George Smith polled 108 votes in 2002, while subsequent winners Phil Waugh (2003), David Lyons (2004) and Jeremy Paul (2005) polled 176, 187 and 194 votes respectively.

John Eales awarded the Medal to Latham tonight at a black tie dinner presented by Suncorp at The Westin Hotel in Sydney.

(Chris' player profile and the full tally of votes are below)

The Joe French Award, which recognises outstanding service to the Australian Rugby Union, was awarded to Peter Crittle AO, the immediate past President of the ARU.

A flanker who made his Test debut for Australia against New Zealand in 1962 and played 15 Tests for Australia, Crittle's contribution to the game spans playing, coaching and administrative roles.

Following his playing career he coached Sydney and NSW in the early 1980s and then went on to become a prominent administrator of the game.

Crittle was President of the NSWRU from 1993-1999 and Co-Vice-President of the ARU from 1994-1995, before becoming the organisation's sole Vice-President from 1996-2000. He went on to serve as ARU President from 2001-2005.

In 2004 he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to Rugby Union football and the IRB's Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service for his contribution to the successful staging of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

An avid Rugby historian, he is well known for his tireless efforts to champion the Wallabies and grow Rugby in Australia and abroad.

The 2006 Suncorp Rookie of the Year, judged by Qantas Wallaby coach John Connolly and his management team, was awarded to Greg Holmes who has been an integral part of the Wallaby pack since making his debut on last year's Spring Tour, against France in Paris.

Holmes started eight of the Qantas Wallabies' nine Tests this year and scored a memorable first Test try against Ireland in Perth. Seizing the ball from an Ireland error he sprinted 50 metres to score under the posts in what proved to be a match-turning moment for the Wallabies.

The 2006 Suncorp Try of the Year was awarded by the Fox Sports commentary team to Matt Giteau for a brilliant set-play move against South Africa in Brisbane that led to his second try for the match.

From a lineout win, the ball went through five pairs of hands, across the entire width of the field, before Clyde Rathbone instinctively kicked the ball while being tackled into touch for Matt Giteau to collect and dive over from close range.

JOHN EALES MEDAL
2006 - Chris Latham
2005 - Jeremy Paul
2004 - David Lyons
2003 - Phil Waugh
2002 - George Smith

JOE FRENCH AWARD
2006 - Peter Crittle AO
2005 - Andy Conway
2004 - Rod Macqueen
2003 - David Brockhoff
2002 - George Pippos OAM
2001 - not awarded
2000 - John Mulford
1999 - Bob Templeton
1998 - John Eales
1997 - Norbert Byrne
1996 - David Campese
1995 - Andrew Slack

SUNCORP ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
2006 - Greg Holmes
2005 - Drew Mitchell
2004 - Clyde Rathbone
2003 - Lote Tuqiri
2002 - Nathan Sharpe

SUNCORP TRY OF THE YEAR
Awarded to the player who made the biggest contribution to the try
2006 - Matt Giteau (scored by Matt Giteau v South Africa, Suncorp Stadium)
2005 - Lote Tuqiri (scored by Lote Tuqiri v Italy, Telstra Dome)
2004 - Matt Giteau (scored by Clyde Rathbone v England, Suncorp Stadium)
2003 - Mat Rogers (scored by Matthew Burke v New Zealand, Telstra Stadium)
2002 - Ben Tune (scored by Ben Tune v Springboks, Brisbane)


2006 JOHN EALES MEDAL WINNER

Chris LATHAM
WALLABY TEST CAP No. 749

Position: Fullback
Height: 192cm
Weight: 100kg
Born: 8 September 1975, Narrabri, NSW
Club: Gold Coast (QLD)
Super Team: Waratahs 1997, Reds 1998-
Honours: Australian U21s 1996, AIS Australian Barbarians 1997, Australian Sevens 1997, Southern Hemisphere XV 2005, Barbarians 2004, Australian Wallabies 1998-
Senior Tours: 1998 France & England. 1999 World Cup (UK). 2000 Japan, France & UK. 2001 UK & Europe. 2003 RWC (Aus). 2004 UK & France. 2005 UK & France.

TEST CAPS: 68 2004 TEST MINUTES: 688
Test Points: 165 (33 tries) 2005 TEST MINUTES: 616
Test Debut: 1998 v France, Paris

YEAR
TEST CAREER
TESTS
POINTS

1998
Fr, E2
2


1999
Ire1, Ire2 (1t), E, US* (1t).
4
10(2t)

2000
Arg1 (4t), Arg2 (1t), SA1, NZ1 (1t), SA2, NZ2, SA3 (1t), Fr, S (1t), E
10
40(8t)

2001
L1, L2 (rep), SA1 (rep), NZ1 (rep), SA2, NZ2 (1t), Sp (3t), E, Fr, W (rep)
10
20(4t)

2002
Fr1 (1t), Fr2, NZ1, SA1 (2t), NZ2, SA2
6
15(3t)

2003
Ire (1t), W (1t), E, NZ1 (rep), SA2, NZ2, N* (5t)
7
35(7t)

2004
S1 (rep), S2 (rep), E (rep), PI (rep), NZ1, SA1 (1t), NZ2, SA2, S3, Fr, S4 (50th Test), E2 (1t)
12
10(2t)

2005
Sam (1t), F (1t), SA2, SA3, F2, E, Ir (1t), W (1t)
8
20(4t)

2006
E1 (1t), E2, Ire (1t), NZ1, SA1 (1t), NZ2, SA2, NZ3, SA3
9
15(3t)


TOTALS
68
165(33t)



CHRIS LATHAM was a model of consistency for the Qantas Wallabies in 2006, starting all nine Tests in the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series after another strong campaign for the Reds during the 2006 Tooheys New Super 14.

Latham crossed for three tries for the Wallabies this season, including a spectacular five-pointer on his home turf, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, during a record 49-0 defeat of the Springboks.

Originally from the northern NSW country town of Narrabri, Latham was raised as a soccer player and it wasn't until he was 18 that he first played Rugby. He owns a caravan park business in Queensland with his wife Michelle and enjoys spending time with his daughter Ashley, playing golf and fast cars.

1994-1997 - Moved to Sydney to play for Randwick and played for NSW during the 1997 Super 12 season.
1998 - Made his Test debut at fullback on the Spring Tour against France in Paris
1999 - Was a member of the victorious Wallaby World Cup squad.
2000-2002 - Started in 10 Tests for the Wallabies in 2000 and then against the British and Irish Lions only to lose the Number 15 jersey to Joe Roff for the remainder of 2001.
2003 - Scored an Australian record of five tries against Namibia in the Rugby World Cup
2004 - After starting the Test season on the reserves bench, Latham returned to the Wallaby Number 15 jersey for the Tri Nations then played his 50th Test against Scotland in Glasgow.
2005 - Started at fullback in eight Tests, missing five matches with a hamstring injury. Awarded the Super 12 Player of the Year for the fourth time.
2006 - Captained the Australian Sevens team at the Commonwealth Games and the Reds for three matches in the absence of John Roe. Started all nine Tests for the Qantas Wallabies so far this year.

[Burgs]

A great effort by Latham.
If I had thought about it a little more he had an outstanding Spring Tour amongst a bit of a rabble so would have gained a mass of votes there while Vickerman was at home injured.

[RugbyFan]

I had to go out but managed to watch the last 20mins without the sound. I completely forgot about him in my predictions. He is a well deserving winner.

[Burgs]

Results:
Chris Latham 345
Nathan Sharpe 171
George Smith 157
Lote Tuqiri 135
Wycliff Palu 93

Latham runs away with Eales Medal

Ben Kimber
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Test fullback Chris Latham has become the first member of the Wallabies back line to earn the team's players' player award, the John Eales Medal.

At a black-tie function in Sydney last night, Latham finished the most clear-cut winner in the award's five-year history, easily beating challengers including second-rower Nathan Sharpe, who finished second, and back-rower George Smith in third.

Each member of the 22-man squad for the season, which encompasses last year's end-of-season tour and this year to date, voted on a 3-2-1 basis for their man of the match, with Latham never challenged as the team's top pick. The 68-Test veteran started at fullback in all 13 matches and scored five tries during a stellar season.

Latham earned a record tally of 345 votes for the season, twice gaining more than 50 votes in a match, first in a win over England (November 12, 2005) and then in a loss to New Zealand (July 8 this year) to clearly pass the mark of past winners.

They include Smith, the inaugural winner in 2002, Phil Waugh (2003), David Lyons (2004) and Jeremy Paul (2005), none of whom reached even 200 votes in claiming their medals.

Sharpe finished last night's count with 171 votes and Smith with 157, followed by winger Lote Tuqiri on 135 and the bolter of the night, No.8 Wycliff Palu, with 93.

On the strength of only three matches to close out the season, two against South Africa and one against New Zealand, Palu finished clear of the majority of Wallabies who had played many more Tests. Among those was captain George Gregan, who polled 69 votes to finish in eighth position, four places clear of vice-captain Stirling Mortlock (54).

When asked why it had taken five years for a back to win the award, Latham said: "There's more forwards than backs voting, isn't there?"

So was this Latham's best year?

"It's hard to say best year ever but I probably had moments this year when I played better than I ever have before, definitely."

The rookie of the year was prop Greg Holmes, who laid a strong claim for the No.1 Test jersey heading into next year's World Cup season, with the 23-year-old also polling well in the Eales Medal count in this year's game against Ireland, in which he ran almost 50 metres for a try.